How do we define vacation? Vacation is a time we spend either with our family or friends that may or may not require travel but definitely done for relaxation, pleasure, and recreation away from work or duty. Every employee would want to consider it a real holiday if the vacation is being paid and sponsored by the company. The concept deals more on giving the person some space and time to do what he wants and enjoy the scenery and the place he goes for during the holidays. It is simply the idea of recharging our bodies from the pressures of work and life and coming back to work with much enthusiasm, fully contented and happy.

A happy employee projects a happy disposition and works with much motivation and zest when he comes back. In time, one gets to see a lot of places and compare culture and other life forms. A person may perceive his fortune and his luck by comparison of the way of life to the situation of other countries and places. Witnessing a lot of culture and lot of life stories may do a person more good than harm since it will naturally change his perception on people and things and create a more mature perspective in life. Where on earth shall we spend a vacation that can give us all that?

Camiguin Island is just the place for it! It is located in the Philippines. A pear shaped volcanic island at the northern tip of Mindanao about 90 kilometers from Cagayan de Oro City. The island has the second smallest population among the islands in the Philippines. Camiguin plays a host to seven volcanoes which gives it a great source for mountain trekking and hot springs. The hot bath in the middle of nature’s lush forest could be so rewarding. It can cure certain skin diseases because of the volcanoes sulfuric content and can get your eggs cooked right hard boiled in a matter of minutes.

The place allows its visitors a number of choices: hot spring sauna feeling, cold spring fresh flowing water, lush forest fresh nature scent, and swimming to sunbathing on its white sand beaches. One can afford to roll in the cleaned white sands and spend the day staring at the sky or even at night staring at the stars. The place is very safe being inhabited by a group of province like character people that are honest, hospitable, and so accommodating. It is quite an adorable small island that will exactly fit your idea of a vacation.

Everything is there already. If you want to purchase something that is not available by nature and a product mix of technology that needs shopping to the malls, Cagayan de Oro City is perfectly only 90 kilometers far from the place. It is an approximately one and half hour travel. A just around the corner help for tourist who feels sun tanning lotions and garment costumes are a must for their get together and simple lighted gatherings at the beaches. The sea breeze and the air are naturally cold at night time and amazingly make you sweat at day time.

Anything you need that is not too technical and too complicated is available and within the islands reach. Figure 1. A sample of white sand beaches in Camiguin Island (Romualdo para. 1) The sunken cemetery allows good swimmers to snorkel and experience diving at the bottom of dead people’s abode swept away to the sea by Old Vulcan Daan’s eruption in 1871. Fluvial parades were being held by the people of Camiguin to honor their dead relatives resting into the serene sea waters of the island. The experience is set to last to linger in the memories and hearts of the visitors a long time.

One got to take a deep breath and plunge right into the sea to read the names of these dead people and gather information on the names and sound of century old birth names and see how it evolves in time to change to western phonetics. The adventure will simply sweep your imagination to past settings of the islands life. At the heart of the island is the Ardent Hot spring orchestrated in a pool filled with this mineral flowing water around 4000C. The water comes from the dormant Mt. Hibok-Hibok volcano and is a good place to soothe one’s skin.

One only needs to just stay in the water for pampering body nerve stimulation therapeutic effect. There is an available restaurant onsite if you prefer just plain dining and experience the stillness of the night without getting wet all over by the hot spring. Your eyes will enjoy the wonderful gardens, landscaping that’s perfect for nature beauty. Sto. Nino Cold Spring and Macau Cold Spring can certainly give your skin a toast to nature’s cold flowing waters. Macau Cold Spring is located at Tupsan Pequino, Mahinog. Sto.

Nino Cold Spring is located four kilometers north uphill of Catarman proper. The water is contained in a huge pool where visitors can plunge right into it without the trouble of hitting the springs abounding huge rocks. The choice is yours for the taking: you may either use the pool or use the natural rocky side of it from the source. Volcanoes and mountains could be tiresome if located apart in an airplane flight distance to catch the view. In Camiguin, you just do horseback riding or to enjoy the scene more, carabao riding, all the way down to the seven volcanoes of the island.

There simply is no problem with transportation if you are a person of good stamina and strength, just make do with walk and jog combination to trek nature’s grandeur of beauty. The sense of relief and relaxation that one experiences upon reaching the top of the mountain is simply incomparable and irresistible. You may camp out there and sleep beside the bonfire in a cool mountain breeze. The experience is just awesome and a contrary to the city life pressures we are battling with everyday. And the cost is overly cheap considering the peso denomination current exchange rate.

Where on earth can you ever find an island with seven volcanoes, hot spring, cold spring, white sands, high mountains, sunken cemetery, few inhabitants, and most of all great hospitality from the island people? Only in Camiguin, Philippines: there’s no other place ideal for a vacation but the trip to nature’s beauty in the least cost! Come now and enjoy the luxury of nature’s beauty. Camiguin, take a flight, make a life, go for it. Recharge and rejuvenate with natures galore. We need some time to commune ourselves with nature. We need to experience the glory that was given on the other life forms that is so different from ours.

We need to decide where to stay when we get to retire and grow old. Humans need to socially interact with the challenge of communicating and understanding simple people with simple minds, simple ambitions, and simple way of life. We somehow would want to experience and witness how an uncomplicated manner of living that is so devoted to family and plainly feeding and educating families mean. The life of the Filipinos and their commitments to support immediate and extended families could be difficult to understand in terms of hard labor but easy to understand in terms of sharing success and satisfaction.

A vacation place worth the scene and the experience and of course the culture education could never be found anywhere in the world, but in Camiguin, Philippines alone! You will learn a lot about bonding and relationships and province lifestyles. Amazing how one could live in a very simplified lifestyle, but the practice exist. When you are in the middle of a simple happy situation, one may reset priorities and gauge opportunities of a city life. The most important priority could be simple life, family bonding, being together and in unity. All the other opportunities may be gauge after what is considered deem important.